The Power of Suggestion (or The Dreamcatcher)

Well, Lee's been having a tough time sleeping again. She's actually scared of sleeping because she's afraid bad dreams will come. She dreads the approaching nighttime, and says in the middle of the night "I wish it were morning." The other night we were up five times with her (and three times with Clara, but the details of those unhappy few days is another story).

We've tried a fair number of things. The light nights (yes, that's plural) weren't bright enough, so we have a lamp on in the room. The closet doors are shut tight. The door to the room is left ajar. She's got her blankie, and stuffed animals to protect her. We've talked with her about how we need our sleep, how she needs her sleep, etc....

So I mentioned this to my helpful friend Karen, who suggested trying a dream catcher to catch the bad dreams. For me the next step was going to be moving her onto the floor of our bedroom, and that's a hard thing to undo again, so I figured what the heck, we'll try one more night in her room with this crazy dream catcher idea.

I put her in her sleeping bag on the floor (this has been helpful previously because I take it bedcovers can be scary), and she sets up her stuffed animals as little sentinels and I hold, I kid you not, a fine-mesh kitchen strainer with a handle (because who has a dream catcher in the house?), and I dance around the room catching the bad dreams. Lee is fascinated with this process and has a huge smile on her face. I make sure I get even the tiny ones hiding in the corners of the ceiling. Then I leave the room, she goes to sleep, and sleeps soundly through the night. Two nights in a row.

As Lilly says, "Wow." That's about all I can say. "Wow."

Here she is, sound asleep under the sleeping bag with her animals at the ready.


I like that she put the United plane there. Just in case she needs to be transported away quickly.